Critical factors for electronic commerce success in small business : a meta study

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to the national economies and to the employment levels of different countries and represent a viable source for inventions and innovations. The recent emergence of electronic commerce in the early nineties could provide different opportunities to the small business sector to overcome its inadequacies. However, in view of the electronic commerce/business (EC) literature in organisations in general and in SMEs specifically, it was observed that EC research is scarce. Therefore, this research attempts, by reviewing relevant EC literature, to develop deeper understanding about the factors influencing EC success in SMEs. The researcher found the following issues significantly influence EC success in SMEs: e-Value, e-Cost, e-Transformation, e-Product, e-Nvolvement, e-Nnovativeness, e-Competition, external e-Support, and e-Pressure. These factors are of importance to researchers, SMEs, professionals including educational institutions and policymakers in driving SMEs and EC forward.

Securing small business - the role of information technology policy

As small and medium enterprises develop their capacity to trade  electronically, they and their trading partners stand to gain considerable benefit from the resulting transaction efficiencies and business  relationships. However, this raises the question of how well small business manages its IT security and the threats that security lapses may pose to the wider trading network. It is in the interest of all members of an electronic trading network, as well as governments, to assist smaller companies to secure their business data. This paper considers the relationship between IT security management and IT policy implementation among small  businesses involved in business-to-business eCommerce. It reports the results of a survey of 240 Australian small and medium businesses  operating in a cross-industry environment. The survey found a low level of strategic integration of eCommerce along with inadequate IT security among the respondents, despite the fact that 81% were doing business online and 97% identified their business data as confidential. Businesses which implemented satisfactory levels of security technologies were more likely than others to have an information technology policy within the organisation. The paper proposes a model that outlines the development of security governance and policy implementation for small and medium businesses.

The impact of small business on the environment

Objectives: Small businesses are estimated to contribute a significant proportion of global pollution, yet there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. The main aim of this research was to conduct an exploratory analysis of small business’s environmental impact in terms of waste, water and energy.

Prior work: Due to the negative impact small businesses are reported to have on the environment, their disengagement in environmental management practices has caused international concern. Much of the literature has concentrated on identifying the barriers and drivers of small business engagement. Little empirical work being conducted on the actual impact of they have on the environment or on the influence of the local context on their environmental practices.

Approach: A survey was developed and distributed to 466 small businesses within two light industrial areas in Perth Western Australia, which achieved a response rate of 87%. This survey will be replicated after a 12 month intervention is conducted. The two light industrial areas were selected as their Local Government Authorities are looking for businesses within their boundaries to improve their environmental performance.

Results: Initial results suggest that the small businesses do have a considerable impact on the environment in terms of waste disposal. Moreover, their environmental management practices concerning waste, energy and water were found to differ depending on the local contexts in which the small businesses operate.

Implications: As small businesses are both economically and socially important to all major industrialised nations, empirical research that provides evidence of their impact on the environment is critical. The implication here is that if the context in which these businesses operate influences the practices employed, developing strategies that acknowledge the influence and consequences of context may be more effective than those currently available. Differences identified within practices suggest that greater awareness and education is needed on water management than energy or waste, as this is the area where small business owner-managers have shown they have less knowledge and/or active engagement.

Value: This research is valuable in three ways. First, it adds to the knowledge of small business impact on the environment. Second, it identifies that context may be a factor that needs to be considered when developing strategies to engage small businesses in environmental management. Finally, it shows that the environmental management of water is the least well established environmental priority of small businesses at this time.

Information technology networks and small business : impact, strategies and changing industry structure

Focuses on the impact of information technology networks on small businesses acting as intermediaries between large enterprises and customers. Explores whether disintermediation is a threat for these small business intermediaries. Investigated factors affecting the use of information technology by small businesses to gain positive outcomes.

Exploring distributed leadership in the small business context

Entrepreneurial ventures are often established, controlled and led through the commitment of individuals. This article problematizes the nature of the form of leadership relevant for the small business as it matures. In this way, it explores the temporal dimension to the appropriateness of distributed leadership in the context of the entrepreneurial business. The authors critique the opportunity that distributed leadership can bring to the maturing business. They illuminate a dilemma for entrepreneurs as to whether they should give up control for a broader distributed process of leading or continue a practice of leading that resonates with their essence of being entrepreneurial - independent, controlling responsive and opportunity driven. This dilemma is addressed by suggesting the contextualization of distributed leadership may offer the maturing business. The article concludes by reviewing development approaches that contextualize intervention and suggests a research agenda to contribute to a greater understanding of how leadership can become distributed in the maturing business. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Management Reviews © 2011 British Academy of Management and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Introduction: Exploring entrepreneurial activity and small business issues in the Chinese economy

© The Author(s) 2014. This introduction summarises the International Small Business Journal special issue on ‘Exploring Entrepreneurial Activity and Small Business Issues in the Chinese Economy’ and discusses the future research agenda.

The ten commandments for global electronic commerce success in small business

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to national economies and employment levels and represent a viable source for inventions and innovations. The emergence of electronic commerce in the early 90's could provide different opportunities to the small business sector to overcome its inadequacies. However, in view of the electronic commerce/business (EC) literature in organizations in general and in SMEs specifically, EC research is scarce. Available research portrays a gloomy picture about EC uptake and use by SMEs. Therefore, this chapter attempts, by reviewing recent EC research, to depict an agenda for EC success in SMEs made up of ten influencing factors. Thus, an attempt is made to develop deeper understanding about the factors influencing EC success in SMEs. By following the suggested guidelines in this chapter, SMEs would be in a better position to assess the Viability o/the new EC perspective 10 their organizations. The same factors are highly important to researchers, SMEs, professionals (including educational institutions) and policymakers in driving SMEs and EC forward.

Innovation theories in retrospect : the case of electronic commerce adoption in small business in New Zealand

A review of the technological innovation adoption literature on small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) provides useful insights into factors influencing innovation adoption but points to the need to introduce more determinants of innovation adoption to SMEs research. This research is interested in identifying these factors and hence, introducing more potential determinants to electronic commerce (EC) adoption research in SMEs. Therefore, this research attempts to extend the technological innovation theories to EC adoption research in SMEs by identifying potential constructs and factors from these theories and then checking their face validity using three case studies in New Zealand. This research endeavours to shortlist and discuss the most important determinants of EC adoption and to eliminate the least relevant ones.

Small business peceptions of online marketing research

Concerns over the overall cost of marketing research and the cost per usable response have in large measure caused marketing practitioners to turn to online marketing research techniques, either as a solus technique, or in a mixed mode application. However, the use of e-mail and mixed mode surveys such as postal invitations to complete online questionnaires present both familiar and new issues, as the extant literature illustrates. This paper examines an earlier study before reporting findings from the present study, which employs a method that ascertains the probability of commissioning and/or responding to four survey research methods, described in scenarios and delivered using e-mail and the World Wide Web (Web). It is evident that while perceptions of e-mail, the Internet, and privacy have changed since early use of the Internet and more particularly the World Wide Web, and there is acknowledgment in the literature concerning the lower costs and faster response speeds of online marketing research, small businesses do appear to discriminate in favour of targeted online survey methods over postal surveys, portrayed as scenarios in this study. They indicate a greater likelihood of responding to targeted, hybrid email/Web surveys than traditional postal surveys.

Implications in e-commerce research in small business

It is believed that the recent emergence of electronic commerce (eCommerce) in the early 90s could provide different opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in overcoming part of their technological. environmental, organizational, and managerial inadequacies. However, recent research portrays a gloomy picture about eCommerce uptake and use in SMEs. Therefore. the implication here is twofold. Initially. there is a need to generate more eCommerce research that could penetrate much deeper into main impending issues pertaining to the SMEs in their potential uptake and use of eCommerce. On the other hand. eCommerce is characterized of being embryonic but growing very fast and fragmented across the different disciplines. which makes the task of capturing its different perspectives a very complex task. The preceding two implications represent the greatest challenge for researchers and professionals interested in undertaking eCommerce research in SMEs. In line with the above implications. the first objective of this research aims at capturing the different eCommerce perspectives from the SMEs point of view and the second objective aims at capturing the eCommerce perspective from the theoretical and the methodological point of view. Addressing the preceding implications in this research could shed some light into some of the grey areas in the eCommerce research in SMEs.

The ecommerce strategy of New Zealand : policy implication for small business

This paper attempts to link findings of recent eCommerce research in small business in New Zealand with the Government’s eCommerce strategy. The research stresses the need for the Government to bridge the existing gap between small business and eCommerce. The strategy emphasises the Government’s role in providing leadership, in building the capability of New Zealanders, and in providing an enabling regulatory environment. The strategy is set out to be a complete partnership between Government, business, and the broader community to achieve these objectives. Recent progress on this strategy is reviewed and its significance to small business is discussed. The Government has actively embarked on setting up a comprehensive policy framework to guide the wide success of eCommerce in businesses in New Zealand. The Government’s progress in this regard is admirable. However, this research points to the importance of prioritising the implementation of certain strategies and of addressing impending eCommerce issues relevant to the small business sector in New Zealand.

Small business perceptions of postal and online survey research

Concerns over the overall cost of marketing research and the cost per usable response have in large measure caused marketing practitioners to turn to online marketing research techniques, either as a solus technique, or in a mixed mode application. However, the use of e-mail and mixed mode surveys such as postal invitations to complete online questionnaires present both familiar and new issues, as the extant literature illustrates. This paper examines an earlier study before reporting findings from the present study, which employs a method that ascertains the probability of commissioning four survey research methods, described in scenarios and delivered using e-mail and the World Wide Web (Web). It is evident that while perceptions of e-mail, the Internet, and privacy have changed since early use of the Internet and more particularly the World Wide Web, and there is acknowledgement in the literature concerning the lower costs and faster response speeds of online marketing research, small businesses do appear to discriminate in favour of targeted online survey methods over postal surveys, portrayed as scenarios in this study, but that this perception does not apply to all hybrid survey modes.